Last month, my sweet friends Tara and Tucker gave me an unusual birthday gift that they swore was the most perfect and exciting (nay THRILLING) and genius present ever. They gave me hints it had something to do with my tropical roots as a Maui girl, and that it would make my life infinitely easier. They made me name my favorite tropical fruits until I burst out: Pineapple! and they cheered as I opened my brand new and now legendary pineapple slicer.
And change my life it has. Most notably, it made it a breeze to core and chop the pineapple for this roasted pineapple coconut ice cream.
Because let’s not delay the real star here (sorry T&T)—gingersnap and roasted pineapple coconut ice cream sandwiches are here to play.
Even more exciting? These are made completely sans refined sugar—the ice cream is sweetened with pineapple and honey, and the gingersnaps with rich, caramely coconut sugar.
The ice cream is mostly coconut milk, and partially milk and cream, giving it a light yet luscious feel. And in case you were missing a little bit of extra dairy, I roasted the pineapple in butter until it got just the sweetest bit caramelized. Plus a generous infusion of vanilla bean (from a Maui-grown bean gifted to me by fellow Maui sister, Alana!).
Oh yah.
I loved these so much I took approximately 892 photos.
ALOHA!
GINGERSNAP & ROASTED PINEAPPLE ICE CREAM SANDWICHES!
Ingredients
roasted pineapple coconut ice cream
- 1 15 ounce can full fat coconut milk
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons milk I used 2%
- ¼ cup whipping cream
- ½ cup honey
- ½ vanilla bean
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 2 pinches sea salt
- 2 cups roughly chopped ripe pineapple
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- sprinkle sea salt
- 2 tablespoons vodka (optional to keep ice cream softer)
- ice and water for ice bath to cool ice cream base
gingersnaps (adapted from Martha Stewart)
- 1 stick unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- 4 tablespoons molasses
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 2 ½ tablespoons minced crystallized ginger
Instructions
- First, make the ice cream. 24 hours before you plan to make the ice cream sandwiches, place the bowl of your ice cream maker in the freezer. I also recommend making the ice cream the day before, so it has plenty of time to harden before you scoop it between gingersnaps!
- Slice the half vanilla bean lengthwise and set aside.
- Whisk cornstarch with ¼ cup whipping cream until no clumps remain. Set aside.
- Combine coconut milk and dairy milk in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add honey and two pinches sea salt, then scrape out the contents of the vanilla bean into the mixture, and toss in the pod. Whisk to incorporate ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook a few more minutes. Remove from heat.
- Whisk in the whipping cream/cornstarch mixture until fully incorporated. Return to heat and bring to a boil, continuing to stir until the mixture starts to thicken, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat, remove vanilla bean pod, and pour ice cream base into a bowl.
- Prepare ice bath in a much larger bowl, combining ice and tap water. Keep the water level low, as it will rise when you put in the bowl with the ice cream base. Place the bowl of ice cream base in the ice bath to cool.
- While it cools, preheat oven to 400º.
- Cut 1 tablespoon butter into small pieces.
- Place pineapple chunks in a flat layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Distribute butter pieces over pineapple, and add a sprinkle of sea salt. Roast 12 minutes, then flip pineapple, rotate pan, and roast another 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
- Remove ice cream base from ice bath and place in fridge to cool completely (approximately 1-2 hours). Once cool, pour base into blender and add ¾ of the roasted pineapple. Blend until nearly smooth, a few pineapple pieces are fine.
- Set up ice cream maker, turn it on, and pour in blended ice cream base. Let churn til frozen. Just before done, add in the reserved bits of roasted pineapple and the vodka, if you like a softer ice cream.
- Pour into loaf pan or other freezer-safe container lined with parchment paper. Freeze at least 6 hours, or overnight.
- Now, make the gingersnaps! (Phew, you’re almost there.)
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking soda, and sea salt.
- In a large bowl, beat butter, coconut sugar, fresh grated ginger, and molasses until nice and whippy. Add yolks and beat to incorporate.
- Gradually add dry mixture to wet, adding ½ the crystallized ginger and folding to combine.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and scoop dough into 14 1 ½-inch balls. Place them on baking sheet at least 2 inches apart, and sprinkle each with a bit of the reserved crystallized ginger. Bake for 11 minutes, rotating halfway through.
- Remove from oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- Now, assemble your ice cream sandwiches!
- Place 7 cookies face down on a plate or baking sheet. Scoop ice cream onto them, and top with the remaining 7 cookies. Press down to fuse and return to freezer at least 10 minutes before eating.
- YESSSSSSSSSS omg your mouth is so happy right now.
